Surviving
by Flowery Lightning
Summary: The entire concept of the Boy-Who-Lived is wrong. Why? Because it was a girl and not a boy. Follow this girl as she makes her entire own way through Hogwarts and all that comes with it. fem!Harry, OtherHouse!Harry
1. Left Behind

**Title: Surviving  
Author: Emma Night  
Summary: The entire concept of the Boy-Who-Lived is wrong. Why? Because it was a girl and not a boy. Follow this girl as she makes her entire own way through Hogwarts and all that comes with it.  
Chapter Warnings: fem!Harry, Character Death  
Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I don't any of the things you recognize from the Harry Potter-books written by J.K. Rowling. I do, however, own the plot and this fanfiction.**

* * *

**Chapter 1  
Surviving**

* * *

It was October 31 in the year of 1981 when the story began. The Potters were staying at the Potter Mansion in Godric's Hallow; hiding from their arch-enemy, the Dark Lord Voldemort. Lily Potter née Evans had just put their one-year old daughter to bed and was taking on last look at het beautiful baby daughter, never knowing it would be the last she would ever take.

She looked at the cute mop of unruly black hair that reached just pass her ears; curling in every direction quite happily.

She looked at the pale face with the cute, little mouth and the button-nose; and of course the most beautiful eyes that she had ever seen. They were of a stunning shade; emerald green with slight specks of hazel in them, but only if you squinted. The almond-shape of the eyes only added to the beauty of them.

She looked at the little girl that she and her love had created together. She looked at the little girl that she loved more than everything else in the entire world. She looked at the little girl that represented the apple in her eye. She looked at her and smiled softly before she turned around.

All of the sudden Lily felt a horrible pain going through her body, it was so unendurable that she felt to her knees and clutched her body tight in an attempt to relief the vicious pain. It took her a while to recognize the pain; but as soon as she did, the tears started running. She had felt the breaking of her marriage bond and she knew that it could only mean one thing: James Potter, her beloved husband, had died.

She also realized that this probably meant that Voldemort had entered their home and that he going to come after her and her beloved baby girl next. She scrambled to her feet and tried to find her wand before realizing that she had left it downstairs. The colour in her face drained more quickly than water would drain from an overflowing sink.

She was about to face one of the most powerful wizards in the world and had absolutely no means of defence. Strangely enough she did not worry for her own life, but only for the life of the little girl in the crib behind her. She knew that she would gladly give her own life up in order to protect hers and she knew that that was what it would take.

She was thankful that the Potter Mansion had such an extensive library. And that she had taken the time to read through most of it. The books in the library were mostly really old, some even ancient, and all held rather interesting information.

She clearly remembered the book on the powers of love and how love could form the strongest protection of all if the love was strong enough. The wandless spell would transform her love into an everlasting, magical shield that would be interwoven with the skin of the person whom it was casted on. It was a difficult spell, but Lily felt that she would be able to cast it. She didn't have any other choice.

She began to gather both her magic and her love and forced them to the centre of her body. She tensed the muscles in her arm and began to chant: "_Verto meus diligo ut veneficus. Verto facio a contego. Verto protego ut unus ego diligo plurimus. Servo suus , servo suus , servo suus. Servo suus pro totus infinitio. Servo suus ex totus nefas , servo_…"

She was interrupted by the blasting away of the wooden door of the nursery. She looked up; a frightened expression making its way onto her face. The spell was broken; it was unfinished and wouldn't ever do what it was intended for. She realized that she had only one option left: begging.

And so she faced the Darkest Lord of the century, looked him in the eyes briefly and felt to her knees. "Please spare my little girl! Please! Just take me in her stead! I'll do everything, but please let her live!" she begged pitifully.

Her begging had sent the cursed man in front of her in a small state of shock. He blinked a few times and then contorted his face into an angry sneer. "Get up from the floor, foolish woman. Do you really believe that begging will save her life?"

Lily hastily scrambled up and put herself between the cold-blooded mass-murderer and her beloved daughter.

"I won't let you take her!" Lily desperately screamed as she made her body function as a shield. Tears of anger and frustration were running down her cheeks as her arms trembled with fear. Voldemort let out a high, cruel laugh.

"You think that I need your permission? You think that I had planned to murder your daughter with your consent? You foolish, impertinent girl," he laughed again, while the red-head didn't move an inch of her body, "I'll give you one last warning. Step aside from the girl and nothing will happen to you."

This time it was Lily that let out the laugh, though hers was not high, nor cruel. Rather it was hysterical and out of control. "You honestly believe that I will let you take her away from me?" she asked the Dark Lord in between her laughs.

Her laughing soon stopped, however, when she saw the deadly expression on her enemy's face. His face was as unmoving as a piece of marble. The unmoving face was frozen with an expression of disdain on its features; he looked at the red-headed witch once and then spoke:

"I gave you the last warning. I was being merciful towards you and yet, you decided not to accept my mercy and even tried to ridicule me," his voice was frighteningly low and had the coldest temperature known to man. Lily unwillingly shivered with fear, but still refused to move. "I will no longer forgive you for your brainless idiocy!"

The snake-like man aligned his wand with Lily's body and let loose the feared green-coloured curse. Lily's eyes widened in shock and she opened her mouth to scream. The curse hit her, though, before a single sound could come forth from her lips. Her lifeless body slumped to the floor, her eyes and mouth still opened widely.

Voldemort stepped forward and kicked aside the corpse with barely noticeable glee. He sneered down at the woman who had defied him four times, had gotten away three times, but had finally met her end at the end of his wand.

He walked to the green-eyed infant and studied her for a bit; trying to find something even remotely interesting. He failed. In his eyes she was just a normal infant, nothing new or special about her.

Nevertheless, he couldn't let her life. This little girl was a trait to his goal, to his war, and most importantly, to his existence. She would absolutely have to be eliminated.

"Avada Kedavra," came the feared whisper of death. The green stream of magic flew towards the crying infant and hit her in the forehead. The crying stopped and the little girl's eyes closed. She slumped backwards and laid still for a moment. The Dark Lord stepped forward to the crib and examined the supposedly dead girl's body.

What happened next was so fast that if one would blink once, they would've missed it. The green light that the girl's body had absorbed, came back out in a sickly red colour. It struck Voldemort in the chest in less than half a second, giving him no chance to escape. It engulfed his body and squeezed the life out of him. It was almost like the Dark Lord was on fire, but it went too fast for it to be fire.

All that remained of the once so powerful Dark Lord's body were ashes. And the little girl that should have died that night was crying out loudly to the empty night.

The following twenty-four hours were an absolute mess. Almost everyone in the Wizarding World was celebrating the end of the Greatest War since Grindelwald and most of them forgot that the person who had caused the end, widely celebrated as the Girl-Who-Survived, was now an orphan without a home.

* * *

Luckily, or perhaps not so luckily, there were still a select few people who remembered; namely Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall and Remus Lupin. Two of these persons were currently in a heavy discussion, while the remaining one was sitting on a cold, brick wall.

"You've got to be kidding me, Albus!" a middle-aged looking man yelled. His amber eyes flashed dangerously and his stance was aggressive. Opposite him stood an old man with a long grey beard and even longer, white-grey hair. The man was completely serene and regarded the furious man with a calm, gazing look. His blue eyes twinkled from behind his half-rounded glasses and he smiled indulgently.

"You know as well as I do that we don't have any other choices, Remus," the old man answered. The answer seemed to infuriate the younger man even more.

"We could follow their Will, instead of going against it!" he yelled.

"That's not possible," came the simple reply.

"Old man..." the angry werewolf growled "You better explain before I lose control". The respected Headmaster sighed deeply.

"How do you think she will end up if he stayed in the Wizarding World? If she grew up with her fame?" he asked, peering into Remus's eyes.

It took the young man a moment to understand what his mentor meant, "You know that wouldn't happen if I took her in," he said softly. His voice already betraying that he knew that it wasn't an option.

"I'm sorry, Remus," Dumbledore said as he laid a hand on his pupil's shoulder. "I have to leave now, I am supposed to meet Hagrid at Privet Drive. You may come along if you have the desire to".

"No, thanks. I have to go find out what they're going to do to Black. I still can't believe he betrayed us..."

Dumbledore remained silent as he walked towards the door of his office. Just before he exited, however, he said one last thing: "Not everything is always as it seems, my dear boy". His voice was quiet and barely reached the ears of the werewolf.

* * *

"Hagrid," a relieved voiced sighed, "At last. And where did you get that motorbike?"

"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," Hagrid replied, while getting of the bike carefully, "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got her, sir."

Dumbledore frowned worriedly at the news, but seeing that both Hagrid and the little girl had arrived safely he decided that he would worry about the issue on a later time.

"No problems, were there?" he asked, just to be sure.

"No, sir –house was almost completely destroyed but Sirius got her out all right and we were gone before the Muggles started swarmin' around. She fell asleep as we were flyin' over Bristol."

The old Professor let out a inaudible sigh of relief at the news. Then he bent over the little girl lying in the gigantic arms of his devotee and Professor Minerva McGonagall joined him in doing so. She pointed at the lightning-shaped scar that adorned the little girl's forehead.

"Is that where - ?" she whispered horrified.

Dumbledore was quick to answer: "Yes. She'll have that scar forever," he said sadly.

"Couldn't you do something about it, Albus?" she asked.

"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in useful. I have one myself above my left knee which is a perfect map of the London Underground," he stated matter-of-factly. "Well, give her here, Hagrid – we'd better get this over with."

Hagrid obeyed immediately. He handed over the little bundle of blankets over. Asking in a sobbing voice if he could say goodbye, which caused a sad setting to settle over the three adults. It didn't take long before the three had all said goodbye to the little infant.

The long-bearded Professor carefully laid down the little girl on the front step of Privet Drive 4 and put a letter in the folds of her blankets. He stroked the infant's cheek once before silently whispering a wish of good luck.

He turned around and left together with the upset woman, whilst Hagrid left on the borrowed motorbike. None of them knew – had even a clue – that the girl that they just left behind was just about to face the worst childhood one can imagine; a childhood of negligence, violence, fear and hunger.

Neither did the rest of the Wizarding World as they cheerfully raised their glasses to the end of the war and towards their saviour: "To Gabrielle Potter – the Girl-Who-Survived!"

**

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A/N: Hello! This is the first chapter of Surviving. Some of you might find it similar to a previous story of mine, "Her Green Eyes", and that is correct. I recently had a computer crash and lost everything. And because I hadn't advanced very far with the story yet, I decided to just rewrite the entire thing. I hope it turned out for the better!**

**Now for something entirely different. I'm in desperate need of a beta, so if you know someone who can help me – or if you are that someone yourself – please contact me! **

**Please leave a review! I would very much like to know what you thought of this first chapter! Hopefully until the second chapter!**

**Love,  
Emma Night**


	2. Childhood

**Title: Surviving  
Author: Emma Night  
Summary: The entire concept of the Boy-Who-Lived is wrong. Why? Because it was a girl and not a boy. Follow this girl as she makes her entire own way through Hogwarts and all that comes with it.  
Chapter Warnings: fem!Harry, Character Death  
Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I don't any of the things you recognize from the Harry Potter-books written by J.K. Rowling. I do, however, own the plot and this fanfiction.**

* * *

**Chapter 2  
Childhood

* * *

**

It was an early summer morning, the sun had just risen and most people were still vast asleep in their warm, comfortable beds. Most people. Most people did not and probably would not ever include Gabrielle Potter.

She swept the sweat from her forehead with the back of her dirt-covered hand as she overlooked the hard work she had delivered. The garden looked absolutely immaculate, just as her Aunt wanted it to be. The flower beds were colourful and neatly trimmed, the grass looked like it had just been laid, the trees and bushes were trimmed in neat figurines and the fountain was sparkly clean.

The now five-year-old girl smiled happily as she thought about how delighted her Aunt would be if she saw it. Doing the garden was Gabrielle's birthday present for her. She had heard all about other girls giving their mums nice drawings and things like that, but Aunt Petunia didn't like drawings. The only thing Aunt Petunia liked was tidiness and cleanliness. Well, she liked Dudley and Uncle Vernon, too, but that wasn't something Gabrielle could give as a birthday present. Therefore she had decided to make the garden and the house look absolutely spotless as her present. Cleaning was the only thing little Gabrielle excelled at, after all.

And how she hoped her Aunt would appreciate it, would appreciate her. Normally, she was always forgotten and ignored, but she hoped that with this present her Aunt would like her a bit more and give her some more attention.

She joyfully went back inside, being extra careful to wash her hands and feet so that they wouldn't soil the carpet. She opened the door to her cupboard and chased some of the spiders away before she lied down and went to sleep.

Her sleep wasn't to be long, though, as her Aunt woke her up only 2 hours after she had finished the garden. "Girl! Get up this instant! Breakfast needs to be done in 10 minutes!" the unpleasant-looking woman shrieked.

Gabrielle woke up with a start and rubbed her eyes. She was so tired, couldn't she sleep a bit longer? But her Aunt made it quite clear that she could not. "Girl! I said now!"

"Yes, Aunt Petunia." The young girl replied gravely and she moved to sit up on her cot. She reached for her glasses and as soon as she had them she exited her make-shift bedroom.

"About time!" her Aunt said spitefully, "How long do you intend to make us wait, huh?"

"I'm sorry, Aunt Petunia." Was the dutiful response.

"Humph." The older woman looked away with an expression of disgust etched on her features. The little girl quickly made her way to the kitchen after that. She desperately tried to hold back the tears she felt coming up, because that would ruin the bacon and the Dursleys wouldn't have that.

Soon the kitchen smelled like bacon, eggs, toast, and other things you might find on the table during breakfast. And with the smell came other things, too. Of course Dudley and Vernon Dursley could not resist the smell of food and where hanging around the kitchen; Vernon reading his newspaper, Dudley being annoying.

"Is it done, yet?" he'd ask every 30 seconds, whilst running around the kitchen with muddy shoes, touching every surface with greasy fingers, and just basically undoing all of Gabrielle's hard work from the previous night.

Before long breakfast was served and devoured, leaving not a single crumb for Gabrielle. She heard her stomach rumble loudly and apparently, so did her Aunt.

"Go fix yourself some breakfast, girl. Can't have you dying of starvation after all."

"Thank you, Aunt Petunia," the girl replied meekly. "What am I allowed to have?"

"Take whatever you want and don't forget to prepare my birthday cake," the horse-faced woman replied.

"I won't, Aunt Petunia," the girl said obligingly.

The older woman nodded at her and turned her back to the child, the faintest of smiles playing on her lips, "The garden looks simply wonderful today, I wonder what happened to it..." she said musingly, though knowing very well what had happened to it.

It got the desired effect, though. Gabrielle who was preparing her breakfast, was smiling broadly and honestly.

Petunia left the kitchen and closed the door behind her. She smiled to herself for making the little girl happy.

If only she didn't have that tyrant of a husband to worry about, she could do it more often. The woman sighed miserably.

Her husband had always loathed everything abnormal, including magic and so he loathed Gabrielle as well. And it wasn't as if Petunia herself was very fond of magic herself –she rather disliked it actually – but she was rather fond of little Gabrielle Anne Potter and she wished that she didn't have to treat her so cruelly.

She sighed again.

* * *

"You good-for-nothing little brat!" Every word was accompanied by a harsh blow, "How dare you embarrass me!"

"But Uncle Vernon..." the seven-year-old cried out, her voice frightened and weak, "I didn't do anything!"

"Yes, you did! You made me lose my job, you little bitch!" the man shouted. His face was going from red to purple and back again as his rage took over. His fists connected with the side of the raven-haired girl's head.

As the girl painfully fell to the floor, Aunt Petunia barged in; "What the hell do you think you're doing, Vernon?" she screeched.

"I'm punishing that worthless brat! Can't you see?"

"Punishing for what? She hasn't done anything wrong!"

"She made me lose my job! That fucking bitch made me lose my job!" Uncle Vernon barked angrily, kicking the defenceless girl once again. She whimpered softly in pain and Aunt Petunia got even angrier than she already was.

"That girl hasn't made you lose your job! Your incompetence has! You're an idiot, Vernon Dursley!" she shrieked.

Her husband stared at her, shock evident in his features. "What did you say, Petunia?" he asked quietly.

"You heard me!" You are an idiot! And if you think that I'll let you abuse this child for one more second, than you're even more of an idiot than I already thought you were!"

Uncle Vernon was physically shaking with anger, but didn't dare to hurt either woman. He stood by silently as Aunt Petunia checked up on her niece and decided that she needed professional care.

"Petunia..." he said after she had called the ambulance.

"What?" she snapped angrily, as she tried to make Gabrielle more comfortable without hurting her more.

"I'm sorry..."

Aunt Petunia sighed deeply and as the sirens were getting closer by, she stood up and put her arms around the person she married. "It'll be okay," she said, "We'll make sure it will be."

* * *

"What should we do, Vernon?" came the muffled voice of Aunt Petunia through the kitchen door. Gabrielle was desperately pressing her ear against the door in an attempt to catch every word leaving her guardians' lips. Above her, Dudley was doing the same thing, though he had gotten the key hole, while she had to make-do with the slit underneath the door.

"What do you mean what should we do? A good old-fashioned thrashing will beat the freakiness right out of that brat!" her husband answered her. Gabrielle just knew that the man was purple in the face, even though she couldn't see him.

"No! Absolutely not, Vernon! I told you before, no child deserves to be beaten!"

"No child deserves to get away with turning the teacher's hair blue!" came the angry reply.

"It's not her fault! The teacher was deliberately provoking her!" Aunt Petunia said in a shrill, angry voice.

"And she should've sucked it all up! That's what school kids are supposed to do!"

"You're being unreasonable, Vernon!" Aunt Petunia shouted, "You don't even want to try understanding that not everything is Gabrielle's fault! You treat her as if she's a rat and as if she does nothing but causing us trouble!

" You promised me that you would treat her fairly! You promised me that you would never hit her again and yet, here you are proposing to do just that! You promised me that you would help me with giving her a nice childhood, but you're not even trying, Vernon! The only things you want to see are lies!

"You know as well as I do that that girl is a sweet, reliable child and has never done any deliberate wrong in her life! She deserves better than what you're giving her and you know it! You just refuse to acknowledge it!"

The angry woman stormed out of the room while Dudley and Gabrielle hurriedly scrambled back to avoid having the door slammed in their faces. She grabbed both children by their elbows and dragged them out the front door.

"Mum, what're you doing?" Dudley asked alarmed, his face completely pale.

"I'm taking you away from that tyrant of a man!" was the angry reply. Aunt Petunia opened the doors of the car and forced both children in the back of the car.

"I won't let you do this, Petunia!" came the angry voice of Uncle Vernon as he watched it all happening from the front door.

"Oh no? How do you think you're going to stop me?" Aunt Petunia said haughtily as she threw her purse at the passenger's seat. Gabrielle watched it all happening with wide eyes. She did know what was going on, but she could hardly believe it; her Aunt was taking her and Dudley away from the man who liked to beat her up, who liked to belittle her because of something she didn't have any control of. The eight-year-old allowed herself a little smile as she thought about how different her life would be from now on.

Next to her Dudley had gone into something akin to shock, his face was as white as a sheet and he kept on murmuring to himself. He'd realized what was going on and didn't like it one bit. He wanted his parents to stay together! He wanted to bully his cousin! He wanted to be spoiled rotten! And yet he knew that none of these things would be reality; not any longer. Not now his mother had decided to leave her husband once and for all.

The car door slammed and the tires screeched as Aunt Petunia made her way out the drive way and out of the life she previously had.

* * *

"Aunt Petunia! Look at this!" Gabrielle yelled as she entered the kitchen of their small apartment.

"What's that, sweetie?" her Aunt replied nicely as she crouched down to come face-to-face with the excited eleven-year-old.

"Look at how weird this letter looks! Why would anyone put my room in the address? Isn't that just silly, Auntie?" she asked as she showed Aunt Petunia the letter she got.

The fair-haired woman blanched at the sight of the letter. Of course she had known and expected it to come, but against the expectation she had hoped; hoped that Gabrielle was just a normal child, a child without magic. But know she had the proof that her hope was futile, because in the child's hand was a letter from the place she lost her sister to.

Despite all of this she put a smile on her face. She knew how important this day was for withes and wizards and even though she wasn't at all fond of their abnormality, she wanted to support the child that was left in her care.

"That does look very silly," she replied, "Why don't you open it to see whom it's from?"

"That's a good idea!" the girl responded and she immediately ripped the envelope open and pulled the various pieces of parchment inside out. She began reading the first one and as she progressed it Petunia could see her forehead starting to scrunch with confusion. The green-eyed girl looked up and with a confused-sounding voice said: "Auntie, why does this letter say that I'm accepted into a school for wizards?"

* * *

**A/N: Here is chapter 2 of Surviving! I hope you enjoyed it! Lots of thanks to once-bitten-twilight-smitten, dhh, Raven Marcus, and Lily887787 who have all kindly left a review. Thanks to anyone who added this to their Story Alert/Favourites!**

**Love,  
Emma Night **


	3. A Trip to London Pt 1

**Title: Surviving  
Author: Flowery Lightning  
Summary: The entire concept of the Boy-Who-Lived is wrong. Why? Because it was a girl and not a boy. Follow this girl as she makes her entire own way through Hogwarts and all that comes with it.  
Chapter Warnings: fem!Harry, Character Death  
Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I don't any of the things you recognize from the Harry Potter-books written by J.K. Rowling. I do, however, own the plot and this fanfiction.**

* * *

**Chapter 3  
****A Trip to London Pt. 1**

* * *

After Gabrielle received the letter it all went really quickly. Petunia explained to her all she knew about the Wizarding world and even how her own parents had been witch and wizard. Petunia told her how she and her mother had found out about magic from a greasy-haired little boy and how jealous she had been of her own sister; she told her how she had survived the Killing Curse at the tender age of one and how she'd probably be very famous in the Wizarding World because of that. She gave away every little bit of information about the Wizarding World that she knew of. Granted, it wasn't all that much – especially because she had ostracised her sister after she went to Hogwarts – but it was more than enough to awaken Gabby's curiosity.

Together they went to Diagon Alley, taking Dudley with them as well. Dudley, who had greatly matured since his mum had divorced his father, had been quite jealous with his little cousin. Until Petunia gave him a firm talking-down about it. She had told him that he could not have whatever he wanted and that he should be happy with what he had. Dudley was quick to see reason after that. Especially when Gabby told him how she would show him all the cool magic tricks.

And so Dudley and Gabrielle were sitting in the back of the car as Petunia drove them to London. They were happily chatting away about all the adventures Gabby would experience in the huge castle that was Hogwarts: "You know, Aunt Petunia said that there would be ghosts! That's so cool!"

"How do you know? Maybe they're evil ghosts! Maybe they'll haunt you if you haven't done your homework!"

"Then I'll just scare them away with my awesome superpowers and they'll never come back!" They both started laughing after that. The visual of Gabby with a red cape attached to her shoulders scaring away some ghosts was too much for them.

Dudley and Gabrielle had never become the best of friends, but they had build up a nice understanding between the two of them; they were family and they would have to live with that. They got along quite well, as long as they didn't have to spend too much time together and as they happily chatted away about all the experiences Gabby would have at Hogwarts and that Dudley would have at his own secondary school time seemed to just fly by. They were in London faster than they thought was possible. Petunia parked the car in a cheap parking lot in Richmond and from there on they took the tube into the city centre.

They had come to the agreement to first go to Muggle London to look for some basic school equipment for both Dudley and Gabby. Petunia had told Gabrielle all about the parchment and quill set-up that the school held to and they had decided that it was too bloody medieval. They got her some normal pens with different coloured inks and a few notebooks – one for each subject – in several colours as well to make it easier to differentiate between them.

After that they got some nice-looking Muggle clothing to wear in the weekends when she wasn't required to wear the school uniform. "Because it is important to always look your best," Aunt Petunia had said when Gabby had asked why her old jeans and t-shirts weren't okay. She didn't like it very much – those jeans were comfy, you know! – , but didn't complain about it. She knew her Aunt too well to even try it.

Aunt Petunia got her some new shoes as well. Black ones with small heels, a gap in the middle and a buckle on top. Absolutely hideous in Gabby's opinion, but they would have to do. Aunt Petunia had said that those were the only type of shoes that would suit a young lady her age. She would sneak in her old Converse and just wear those most of the time. She got away with it in primary school, so she didn't see why she couldn't just do the same in her new school.

Dudley had gotten most of the same things, alongside a few sets of the new school uniform he would be required to wear. It almost scared Gabby how mature he looked in that blazer, but as soon as he opened his mouth the air of maturity had been ruined. Somehow Aunt Petunia didn't think it was as funny as the two children in her care.

"I cannot see how burping in public can be the least bit funny," she had said, but that had just made the two youngsters laugh even more. She huffed a bit, made Dudley apologise to the store lady and ushered them out of the shop. Rather red in the face as she did so.

* * *

"Aunt Petunia? What is the name of the pub I'm supposed to be looking for again?"

"It's called the Leaky Cauldron and from what I remember, it's supposed to look rather shabby."

"Ooh, I think I've found it then," she said simply. Her eyes were focused on the opposite side of the street and as she pointed out the quaint little pub to her Aunt and cousin, they sighed with relieve.

"Finally!" exclaimed Dudley. They had been walking around this particular part of London for so long that it wouldn't surprise him if he could find his way through the streets now even if it were pitch-black dark.

They made their way across the street and swiftly entered the little pub. "So what now?"

"Why don't you and Dudley go look for an empty table while I order us some lunch."

"Okay! Come on, Dudley!" The two set off and had soon found an empty table. They put down their purchases and sat down.

"Don't you think this pub looks really big from the inside?" Dudley questioned.

"Yeah, you're right. It looks a whole lot smaller from the outside!" Gabby answered. They both looked around the pub in amazement, because besides the abnormal size of the inside, lots of things were happening as well. People were stepping out of fire places of which the fire turned green, an angry woman turned the man sitting next to her into a toad and yelled at him to get away from her, the bartender made things appear with a swish of a wooden stick he was holding and a man who was probably rather lazy made his book levitate in front of him while he was reading it.

It wasn't long before Aunt Petunia came back with three plates filled with fish and chips. "Dudley, be a dear and get the drinks from the counter, please" she said as she carefully put the plates down. The boy got up and made his way to the counter while Aunt Petunia sat down on one of the old-fashioned wooden chairs.

"Aunt Petunia, do you know why the room looks so much bigger from the inside then from the outside?" Gabby asked, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"They've probably used magic for it, sweetheart. You'll probably be able to do the same in a few years" her Aunt answered with a smile.

"Really? That would be so cool!" the girl exclaimed happily, making her Aunt laugh a little. "What else do you think I can do, Aunt Petunia?"

"Hmm, now. That would be spoiling it, don't you think? Why don't you try to figure it out yourself?"

"Okay..." Gabby answered, just a little bit dejected. "But do you think I'll be able to turn Vernon into a toad if I ever have to see him again?" she asked hopefully. And her Aunt burst out laughing at the idea.

"What's so funny?" Gabby and Petunia looked up to find that Dudley had returned with the drinks. He put them down on the table, right next to the plates of fish and chips and sat down at the table. "Hmm?"

"Ooh, nothing, darling. Just a bit of girl-fun" his mother answered, giving a pointed look to her niece. The subject of Dudley's father was still rather sensitive to him, partly because he had never really been subjected to the abuse and because of that, couldn't really think of his father as an awful man. Especially not when he still received really cool presents from the man every birthday and Christmas.

"Okay. Whatever" he shrugged, not even interested anymore. "So after lunch we're going to get Gabby's magic stuff, right?"

"Yes, we are. We'll have to ask the man behind the counter if he can show us the way into Diagon Alley, though." Petunia answered, "But first, we'll eat. Something tells me that we'll need all the energy we can get." She quickly got down to her meal and made sure the children with her did the same. Not that they needed much ushering; they were both quite excited to get their first glimpse of the magical shopping area.

As soon as they were finished, Dudley dragged Gabby along to the counter to find the bartender.

"Let me go, Dudley! I can walk on my own, you know?" Gabby said in an exasperated tone.

"Yeah, I know. But you're so slow that even a turtle could win from you in a race, so I just dragged you along." Her cousin replied matter-of-factly.

"You think so?" Gabby said, clearly offended, "Then why do I always win from you when we race?"

"Maybe in your dreams!"

"That's quite enough, you two!" an amused-sounding man interrupted them. "Now where are your parents; they must be looking for you!"

"Don't worry, mister," Gabby answered him, "My Aunt is just over there!" She pointed out the woman who was trying hard to get through the crowd."We are just a bit faster than she is."

"Aah, okay then. That should be alright. Are you going shopping for Hogwarts, young lady?"

"Yes, I am! But we need someone to show us the way to Diagon Alley, because Aunt Petunia doesn't know how to get there."

"I can do that if you want. I suppose you are a Muggleborn?" asked the man, a strange twinkle lilting up his eyes.

"A Muggle-what?" the little girl asked confused. Right at the moment that Petunia had made her way over to them.

"No, no, she isn't. Her parents were both magical, but they have passed away and so I am taking care of her." She answered the man, "I would appreciate it greatly if you could show us into Diagon Alley, however. That would be absolutely lovely."

"No problem, do you mind if I ask you a few questions, though? You are a Muggle, right?"

"Yes, my son and I are Muggles and answering a few questions in return for your help would certainly not hurt anyone." Aunt Petunia answered with a smile. "Do you mind if we leave now, though? You see, we still have to travel back home and I don't want to make it too late."

"Aah, of course. I'll be back in a second. I'll have to inform my wife." The man answered with an understanding nod.

"Of what do you have to inform me, Arthur?" a female voice suddenly spoke up.

"Molly!" the redhead yelped as he quickly turned around. "I didn't see you there."

"Of course you didn't. You were too busy with your Muggle-fascination, as always. No offence to you, Mrs..."

"None taken, don't worry. And it's Miss Evans, I divorced my husband." Petunia answered politely. Arthur and Molly looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"You don't think..." Arthur began softly, talking in a quiet whisper.

"No, that's not possible. If Lily were right she would never step foot here!" Molly replied, talking just as softly as her husband.

"Oh, if you're wondering if I'm related to Lily Potter, than that would be quite correct." Petunia said simply.

"You knew my mum?" Gabby, who'd been avidly following the conversation, burst out. The redheaded couple were overwhelmed for a second as they stared at the little girl. And all of the sudden it seemed silly of them that they hadn't recognised her: she looked like a perfect mix of Lily and James Potter and if that wasn't enough to ring the church bells of recognition, the ever-present lightning scar on the little girl's forehead would definitely do it.

"You are Gabrielle?" Molly said, her voice sounding quite astonished.

"Yep! I'm Gabrielle, Gabrielle Potter, nice to meet you, m'am!" the ravenhead said happily. She stuck out her hand and Molly shook it carefully.

"Molly Weasley and it is a pleasure to meet you too, my dear." She said with a kind smile. Around them the entire pub had fallen into a silent hush. They were all staring at the small group with an unholy amount of awe in their eyes.

"G-G-Gabrielle P-P-Potter?" One man said. Gabby thought he was quite a strange man, what with his purple turban, shivering and very obvious stutter. She didn't let it show, though, and just replied:

That's me, sir. Nice to meet you." She stuck her hand out to him as well, but the odd man didn't even seem to think about shaking hands with her.

"A p-p-pleasure, Miss P-P-Potter," he said instead and he gave the girl a polite nod of his head before he quickly made his way out of the pub. His greeting was the first of many for little Miss Potter. More than a dozen people came up to shake her hand and profess their eternal gratitude before Aunt Petunia could drag her away from all the admiring fans. All in all, the experience was rather new for Gabby. Sure, her Aunt had told her about her supposed fame, but being told about something doesn't even come close to experiencing the real thing. Especially not in a case such as this. Dudley had viewed the entire scene like a goldfish happing for its food, only he just happed for air in his utter disbelief.

"Come on, Gabby. We have to get out of here." Her Aunt said as she pulled the eleven-year-old away from all the attention. "Excuse me, Arthur is it? Could you please show us into Diagon Alley now?" The redhead quickly complied and bid his wife goodbye, telling her that he would be back in just a second.

"You are familiar with Diagon Alley, right?" he asked Aunt Petunia as he rummaged through his pockets to find his wand.

"I've been there once, yes. I'm quite sure that we'll be able to find our way; nothing wrong with a bit of exploring after all!" she answered.

"Quite right!" Arthur said jovially.

"I do not wish to take up more of your time; you did leave your wife waiting there after all."

"That's quite okay, don't worry about it. How about I show you the way to Gringotts and we then head our separate ways?"

"That would be most kind, thank you." Aunt Petunia replied, "Gringotts is the Wizarding bank, am I right?" Arthur nodded and led them over to the large white building, on the way asking numerous questions about their lives in the Muggle world and the "new" developments that had been made there. Strangely enough, given Arthur's rabid obsession with Muggles, the man wasn't very familiar with telephones…

Once the group arrived at Gringotts Arthur had learned many a thing about the Muggle lifestyle and they had agreed that he and his family could come visit them sometime during the Christmas break. "I would love to see how you Muggles celebrate Yule!" Arthur exclaimed before the they went their separate ways again.

"I assure you, it's nothing special!" Aunt Petunia answered, "But you and your family are most welcome anyway. It will be fun having such a big group over!"

"Yes, yes," Arthur said. "Let's keep in touch, though! I can't hold in all my questions until Yule!"

"That's fine by me." Petunia replied. They agreed to use the Weasleys' owl to communicate back and forth and after that made their goodbyes.

"See you at Christmas, Mr Weasley!" Gabby shouted after his retreating back. She had been as fascinated with the red-haired father as he was with their little family. He was the first real wizard she talked with after all!

* * *

**A/N: And that was Chapter 3! I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! One again I would like to thank all my reviewers! So Lily887787, Allen Pitt, Lily Ann Cullen, the dark euphie, BrookeDavisBaker, Crimson Hope, Immortalis Cruor Elf, pancakeatebatman and Hp-speed-reader! Love you guys!**

**Also a big thank you to everyone who favourited me and/or put me on alert! **


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